Bainbridge Island Review

26 apply for pot licenses in North Kitsap

Twenty-six businesses hope to obtain licenses for locations in North Kitsap and become among the first in the state’s emerging recreational marijuana market. / Courtesy / Washington Cannabis Institute

POULSBO — The application window for Washington’s marijuana licenses closed in late December. Now, 26 businesses hope to obtain licenses for locations in North Kitsap and become among the first in the state’s emerging recreational marijuana market.

The wave of prospective businesses seeking to launch a new era of “green” jobs holds a variety of producers, processors and retailers. Statewide, the number of processed applications surged to approximately 6,619 on Jan. 7. The state’s Liquor Control Board — the department charged with regulating the industry — expects to approve licenses in late February and March. Washington’s first marijuana retail stores could open as soon as May or June.

Nine businesses have applied with the state to set up retail shops in North Kitsap. Kitsap County as a whole, however, is allocated 10 retail stores by the state: two in Bremerton, one in Bainbridge Island, and seven in the remaining county.

The Liquor Control Board will determine by lottery which retailers will obtain one of the coveted 10 licenses. All applicants will be prescreened before the lottery to ensure they meet state guidelines for retail operations.

Five retail marijuana shops have set their sights on Kingston.

And five applications have been filed for shops within the Poulsbo city limits; however, local zoning codes may prove difficult for the start ups.

Two early applicants have already been denied Poulsbo business licenses because their shops are not within the one area that is zoned for marijuana.

Poulsbo Haze has listed its address as 19568 Viking Ave., not far from another Poulsbo business, NW Highlands at 650 NE Bovela Lane. Officials with the city’s planning department said that both retailers applied for Poulsbo business licenses, but were denied.

Poulsbo zoning codes only allow for marijuana operations in a small triangular area at the north end of the city, between Viking Avenue and Vetter Road. The area is zoned for industrial uses and is largely undeveloped.

The state’s most recent list of applicants shows that NW Highlands is also among the five that applied to operate in Kingston. It also shows three other businesses that have applied for retail licenses within Poulsbo’s city limits: Mary Jane’s Place, Poulsbo Imperial, and Poulsbo Grown. They will likely encounter the same zoning problems as those that were denied.

Retailers are only one side of the new marijuana industry, however. There are also producers and processors.

Four producers or processors have applied for licenses to operate in the Kingston area. One business, Cactus Blossom, applied to be a producer in Hansville.

Twelve businesses have also applied for producer or processor licenses in the Poulsbo area. Eleven of these operations list their addresses outside the city limits. The operations are therefore not subject to city zoning restrictions.

One Poulsbo applicant, Cannaglow Corporation, has applied as a producer/processor within the city’s given area for marijuana operations. As a producer/processor, Cannaglow Corporation can grow marijuana and package the product for sale to retailers. If approved, the company is slated for an operation between 2,000 and 10,000 square feet.

Washington’s marijuana regulations state that the recreational businesses must fall within three categories: producers, processors and retailers.